Monday, January 23, 2017

Cypress Swamp Trail

After an overnight thunderstorm, this morning we went on a guided tour of a Cypress Swamp with a very knowledgeable volunteer naturalist. It has been a very dry winter in southern Florida, but after last night's rain (and a tornado watch) this ecosystem sprang into life.

The swamp and Cypress knees.



Although Cypress is a conifer it is also deciduous and grows very tall and straight.


Resurrection ferns can look quite dead during a dry spell, but after a rain they quickly rejuvenate, hence their name.

Resurrection Fern growing on a dead branch.



A large bromeliad on a Live Oak branch.

 Resurrection Fern on an old Live Oak trunk.























This area is home to a large variety of aerophytes.

A bromeiad just ready to bloom.

Lichens on a dead branch


A large flock of Ibises, a gregarious bird, were continuously flying about the swamp and probing with their sensitive curved beaks in the fresh mud.

A solitary great egret in the midst of probing Ibises

Four Ibises checking me out watching them.

And lastly, a Red-shouldered Hawk perched in a Live Oak branch.

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